Mumbai: As part of the company’s aggressive strategy to grow the exposure of its character franchises in international markets, Marvel Entertainment is partnering with Madhouse – one of the top Japanese animation studios in the world – to create brand new characters inspired by the Marvel Universe for the Japanese market.

Working closely with Marvel, Madhouse will produce Japanese anime series based on Marvel’s world-renowned character library for the Japanese market. The characters will be adapted visually, using the unique style of Japanese anime, and their histories will interweave the local culture and history of Japan, with an eye toward making their mythology more relevant to the Japanese audience. This collaboration will result in a completely new character base, which will eventually crossover into the current Marvel Universe.

"Marvel has continuously looked to push the boundaries with the Marvel Universe and seek new mediums for our characters. Madhouse is helping us expand the Marvel brand with a truly global vision tailored to themes and artistic styles popular in Japan, creating a uniquely localized and cross-cultural adaptation of the Marvel Universe," said for Marvel Entertainment Wireless & Gaming International & Worldwide Head of Animation President Simon Philips.

"With over 35 years of experience developing and producing worldwide entertainment hits, we are confident Madhouse will be able to translate the vision of the Marvel Universe through the unique anime style, to create captivating new entertainment that will thrill both new and old fans alike," he added.

Madhouse is currently in production on the first of four new series (12 x 30 minutes), which are scheduled to launch in spring 2010. The initial series will feature characters including Iron Man and Wolverine, among others, and Madhouse will ultimately look to adapt the entire Marvel Universe, creating in essence a completely new character base for Marvel.

"We are incredibly excited to have this full collaboration with Marvel to create a completely new world that has never been done before in the Marvel Universe. This will be the first time there will be a full Japanese anime style for Marvel, and the Madhouse creative team is fully engaged to bring this to a worldwide audience," said Madhouse president and CEO Jungo Maruta.

The Marvel anime series will debut on ANIMAX, the first and largest 24-hour network dedicated to anime.

Additionally, Marvel and Madhouse will be exploring related merchandising initiatives to support the new series.